Girls Get Away in LeClaire, Iowa. April 27 & 28.
$50.00 fee -
  • Mini Makeovers by Paul Mitchell,
  • Dinner at Steventon's,
  • Fashion Show,
  • What's HOT in home decor for 2012 by POSH HOME.
  • Music by John McLaughlin,
  • Improv Comedy by 2 Guys in Ties,
  • Mini Martini's, Wine Tasting where you will get a free etched wine glass from Wide River Winery,
  • Music on the porch & wine tastings at Grasshoppers.
  • Vodka Tastings Mississippi River Distillery.
  • Give aways, scavenger hunt and much more!!!
The first 20 women who sign up will receive a tiara in their goody bag. Go to www.visitleclaire.com for more information.
Christian Care will host its second annual Trivia Night at The Rock in Coal Valley on
Friday, March 23, 2012. Doors will open at 6:00 PM and the games will begin at
7:00 PM. The cost is $10 per person with eight individuals per team. The top two teams
will receive cash prizes for their trivia knowledge. Raffle items and a 50/50 drawing
will be held and Mulligans will be available for purchase. Sandwiches, drinks and water
will be for sale, as well as delicious baked goods from the ladies of Grace Evangelical
Free Church. Team members are also welcome to bring their own snacks. Seating is
limited; to reserve individual or team seating contact Mary Maland at 309/792-4102 or
cc.mary10@gmail.com.

The proceeds from Trivia Night will help Christian Care continue to provide services in
the Quad Cities to a growing number of homeless men and abused women and children
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The organization's vision is to transform lives. They
accomplish this by providing safe shelter, food, clothing, and personal care items, as
well as the counseling and guidance needed to help residents develop the skills needed
for a healthy new life.

Christian Care is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose vision is to transform lives.
Through its mission of providing safe shelter, support and resources, Christian Care
empowers both the homeless and survivors of domestic violence to make positive
changes in every aspect of their lives. Christian Care's two facilities?a domestic
violence shelter for women and children and a rescue mission for men?serve homeless
individuals, victims of domestic violence, veterans, men and women coming out of
prison, and those with mental illnesses. If you know someone in need, call the Christian
Care Crisis Hotline at any hour of the day or night at 309/788-2273.

For more information about Christian Care, please go to their web site at
christiancareqc.org or to Facebook at facebook.com/christiancareqc.
Innovation in Niche Market Leads to Rapid Start-up and Expansion Right off the Bat.

BlackBat Trueline Stakes started as a business idea involving the supply of wooden survey stakes for the construction industry including oil and gas, pipeline and highway rights-of-way, and infrastructure renewal projects.  This led to a new business model, which has found rapid acceptance and quick growth.

In 2009, BlackBat Stakes' co-founder Bob Reeves presented Howard Bagby with an opportunity to establish a survey stake company. Howard, who has 30 years experience in the oil and gas business, was familiar with the need of this product, considering how much survey work is done before drilling projects start.

"I recognized that there was a need for high quality wooden stakes for our surveyors to use, and Bob's plan would do something about it," Bagby said. After speaking further with Reeves, Bagby discovered the stakes were from multiple sources that were inconsistent and consequently the quality was often below standards. "The quality varied so much that often an area had to be re-surveyed or would take too long to get right simply due to undependability and breakage of the stakes," Babgy said. "This made Reeves' proposal very interesting."

Reeves' idea was simple: "If we put a better survey stake in the market, we could save a lot of time and money in the cost of a project."

In 2010, they bought a small Alma, Ark.-based regional stake maker and invested in new technologies that allow the company to produce a high volume of high-quality stakes that lead the industry in low breakage rates and durability. "We were very fortunate in the beginning. Once we got our manufacturing process worked out with our new designs, our volume and consistency was much better than we ever expected," Howard said.

As BlackBat began introducing its stakes, made of pine or hardwood, to the market in February 2011, growth was immediate.  Orders increased every month.  Customers love the smooth finish on the stakes, making them easy to write on. The stakes' consistent quality and straightness ensure survey projects are more efficient and accurate.

While BlackBat is excited about the rapid growth they are presently experiencing, the company also is staking its claim in the future. "We would like to see our company and its processes grow nationally.  It will be very easy for us to replicate this manufacturing process in other states. Wherever high quality wood products are sold we want to be there, and we want our name to be recognized," said Reeves, now General Manager at BlackBat.

Travel to DC to lobby on beginning farmer and rancher issues


Washington, DC - On Monday, March 5th, several farmers, ranchers and military veterans from Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota and California will travel to Washington D.C to participate in a nationwide fly-in called, "Investing in the next generation of American Farmers and Ranchers" spearheaded by the Center for Rural Affairs and several other organizations. The fly-in will bring several new farmers and ranchers from the Great Plains to Washington for meetings at the USDA and on Capitol Hill regarding the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act, including beginning farmer and rancher provisions in farm bill credit and conservation programs.

"The future of family farming and ranching depends, in large part on beginning farmers and ranchers being able to get started in agriculture. Public policy can and should help beginning producers overcome barriers to entry," said Traci Bruckner, Assistant Policy Director at the Center for Rural Affairs.

According to Bruckner, the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act (H.R.3236) encompasses a national strategy for addressing the barriers facing beginning farmers and ranchers, addressing the issues that beginners identify as the greatest challenges.

"This bill makes an important investment in the next generation of farmers, one that far outweighs the minimal cost," added Bruckner.

Farmers and ranchers from across the country will participate in a briefing, convened by the Center for Rural Affairs, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, California FarmLink and Land Stewardship Project, to share information and personal stories about the challenges they face as well as potential policy solutions with Senators, Representatives, Congressional staff and other interested parties - including members of the media. Participating farmers and ranchers will focus on proposed legislation that addresses barriers to getting into agriculture and invests in fostering a new generation of American family farmers and ranchers through the following:

  • enabling access to land, credit and crop insurance for new producers,
  • assisting new producers in launching new value-added farm and ranch ventures,
  • helping new producers become good stewards of their land,
  • providing training, mentoring and research that beginners need to be successful,
  • conducting outreach opportunities for military veterans to get involved in farming and ranching.

Media Availability - to arrange for interviews while these young farmers and ranchers are in Washington, or upon their return, please contact Elisha Smith (elishas@cfra.org) or John Crabtree (johnc@cfra.org) via email or by calling 402.687.2100.

WHAT: "Investing in the Next Generation of American Farmers:" a briefing on the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act.

WHEN: March 5, 2012 from 10:00 - 11:00 AM, EST (House briefing)
March 5, 2012 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM, EST  (Senate briefing)

WHERE: House briefing:  1302 Longworth House Office Building
Senate briefing:  328-A Russell Senate Office Building

WHO: Jason Frerichs, a fourth generation farmer and rancher from Wilmot, South Dakota, will be presenting at the briefing. Frerichs raises corn, soybeans, and wheat.  He also manages a beef cow/calf operation, and has used conservation practices to implement rotational grazing practices on his operation.

Justin Doer, a farmer, rancher and military veteran from Plainview, Nebraska will also be presenting. Justin believes the veteran provisions in this bill would help beginners like him. He is also interested in conservation programs to help expand his operation.

Dave Fikel, from Ontario, California is a farmer and military veteran who grows chickens raised on organic feed and pasture to sell to local markets. He secured a federally guaranteed loan from a community based non-profit organization to start his farm in 2010.

Doug Crabtree and Anna Jones-Crabtree farm 1,280 acres north of Havre, Montana. They manage production and marketing risk by using diverse crop rotations but are concerned that they cannot purchase crop insurance for some well-adapted crops such as rye, flax and buckwheat. They have accessed NRCS conservation programs such as EQIP and CSP to support their conservation practices and provide additional revenue to their operation. They credit FSA beginning farmer loan programs with giving them an opportunity to farm.

For pictures of some of the participants visit:
Jason Frerichs - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/6947117275/in/photostream

Doug Crabtree - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/6947116319/in/photostream/

Anna Jones-Crabtree - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfra/6947116249/in/photostream/


WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., today released a report urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve oversight of the new system being created to monitor the quality standards in nursing homes.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, entitled, "Nursing Home Quality: CMS Should Improve Efforts to Monitor Implementation of the Quality Indicator Survey," urges CMS to improve efforts to monitor implementation of the Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) for nursing homes.  The full report can be found here.

CMS started moving toward the QIS process in 2005 after reports indicated a need for improvements in the traditional survey process.  But the agency has decided to temporarily suspend implementation until a number of concerns raised by states and regional CMS offices have been resolved.

"The report shows CMS doesn't do enough to monitor and facilitate states' implementation progress," Grassley said.  "After six years of implementation, 26 states had trained or started training surveyors to use the system, but uncertainty about progress by these states led CMS to suspend implementation for the rest of the country.  If CMS were better tracking state implementation from the beginning, the agency could have identified these problems earlier and helped the states that are struggling."

"There's an obvious need for a clear, consistent and efficient system for monitoring nursing home quality," Kohl said. "QIS has the right goals in mind, and has the potential to make a positive difference in the consistency and accuracy of state survey work across the country -- but implementation needs to be done well, and the agency's goals need to be realized sooner rather than later."

Grassley and Kohl have worked together on nursing home quality for many years.  Most recently, their bill, the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2009, was passed into law.  Through the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the senators have pressed the federal government and states to improve the quality of nursing home care through more rigorous inspections and better information about inspection results for consumers through the federal Nursing Home Compare database.  Kohl is chairman of the Aging Committee.  Grassley is former chairman.  A landmark GAO report from 1998 was the subject of Aging Committee hearings Grassley convened.  The hearings exposed serious quality of care problems in nursing homes, exacerbated in part by highly predictable annual inspections and few citations for serious deficiencies.  After the hearings and at the urging of the Aging Committee, the Clinton Administration took steps to improve the inspection process.  Grassley and Kohl have urged continued attention and refinements.

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Iowa City, IA - Aspiring teenage poets are invited to write an original poem for Riverside Theatre's annual Will Power Poetry Contest.

Words Out of the Box (Sonnet If You Want It) is open to area students in 7-12 grades, with submissions due April 10.

This year, Riverside Theatre is expanding its Will Power Poetry Contest to include poetry of all kinds?from hip-hop to punk rock, Shakespearean to Langston Hughes.

Whether it be slam-style, sonnets or Robert Frost, it all comes down to The Word! We want to hear what you have to say.

Contest winners - in both junior high and high school categories - will receive 2 free tickets to the special Will Power Performance of As You Like It on June 14 at the Festival Stage in Iowa City's Lower City Park, have their work printed in the summer playbill, and displayed at the Iowa City Public Library and MidwestOne Bank.

Entries are due April 10, 2012. Full contest details and entry forms are available at www.riversidetheatre.org.

All winners will be notified, and the winning entries will be listed on Riverside Theatre's website www.riversidetheatre.org.

Will Power is an education outreach program of Riverside Theatre, sponsored by MidwestOne Bank with additional support from Rockwell Collins.

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The week did not start off well! The House Appropriations Committee on Monday passed the Health & Human Services spending bill, which again zeroes out spending for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. We immediately sent out an Action Alert to our advocates, generating 110 responses to 60 legislators. That is great, but we could use more. It's not too late to have your voice heard!  Click here to take action.  The bill, HF 2435, will likely be debated next week by the full House.

Remember the bill that would prohibit the use of all tobacco products on school property? (It passed the Senate overwhelmingly last session 44-5 but is now stuck in the House because of opposition by the leaders.) The good news is it is part of the Senate education reform bill, thanks to Sen. Herman Quirmback, D-Ames.  And Rep. Kevin Koester, R-Ankeny, plans to offer an amendment to the House education reform bill to put it in. We have speakers lined up for a public hearing on the education bill on Monday evening at the Capitol to talk about why this should be part of the bill. If you are interested in speaking, contact Justin - Justin.huck@cancer.org.

Our Iowa Health Advocates group geared up for presentations to senators yesterday, talking about what we want to see in a bill establishing an Iowa Health Insurance Exchange. Four representatives (including me) of our 35-member coalition testified to eight senators about the importance of the Exchange, since it could potentially help over 1 million Iowans enroll in health insurance with no pre-existing condition exemption starting in 2014.  Insurance industry representatives also testified. A bill on the Exchange sponsored by Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, (SF 2042) is on the Senate debate calendar. Watch for action on that in the next several weeks. You can read my testimony here.

Finally, if you are free on Monday, March 12th, at noon consider coming up to the Capitol (Room 116) to hear Dr. George Weiner present a Lunch & Learn about cancer research happening at the University of Iowa. I guarantee you will find it fascinating.

As always, feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns - peggy.huppert@cancer.org.

Funding will help small systems better serve local communities


WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will provide up to $15 million in funding for training and technical assistance to small drinking and wastewater systems, defined as systems that serve fewer than 10,000 people, and private well owners. The funding will help provide water system staff with training and tools to enhance system operations and management practices, and supports EPA's continuing efforts to protect public health, restore watersheds and promote sustainability in small communities.

 

Most of the funding, up to $14.5 million, will provide training and technical assistance to small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and to small publicly-owned wastewater systems, communities served by on-site systems, and private well owners to improve water quality.

 

More than 97 percent of the nation's 157,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people, and more than 80 percent of these systems serve fewer than 500 people. Many small systems face unique challenges in providing reliable drinking water and wastewater services that meet federal and state regulations. These challenges can include a lack of financial resources, aging infrastructure, management limitations and high staff turnover.

 

EPA expects to make available up to $500,000 to provide training and technical assistance to tribally-owned and operated public water systems.

 

Applications must be received by EPA by April 9, 2012. EPA expects to award these cooperative agreements by Summer 2012. For more information about these competitive announcements, visit:

http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/sdwa/smallsystemsrfa.cfm

 

For more information on EPA's programs and tools to help small water systems, visit:

http://water.epa.gov/type/drink/pws/smallsystems/index.cfm

WEDRYZN, POLAND (03/02/2012)(readMedia)-- By 1st Lt. Matthew Morris and 1st Lt. Nico Smith, Illinois Army National Guard BEST A9

The weather was frigid but not unfamiliar to the Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Bilateral Embedded Support Team (BEST) A9 who arrived in Poland Feb. 3. The BEST A9 arrived in Wedryzn, Poland where they are assisting the Polish 6th Airborne Brigade certify its two battalion task forces prior to their deployment to Afghanistan this month.

"I'm very impressed with the trust placed in their lower enlisted to do the right thing and the mentality they have while they conduct training," said Sgt. 1st Class William Ingles of Steeleville, with BEST A9. "Their attitude is not 'why are we training' but 'when.' The design is very practical and a lot of fun to watch."

The primary focus of the Illinois National Guard Soldiers' training the past few weeks was to learn the customs and leadership style of their Polish counterparts.

This deployment is part of the State Partnership Program (SPP), which was created in 1993 to assist the Polish government and military transition into NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union. Co-deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with Polish Forces began in 2003 where the partnership evolved from an advisory role to an enabler of warfighting capacities.

The work schedule also allows time for the team to experience Polish culture and history. Illinois Soldiers have travelled to Ostwald, an area once occupied by Germany, to visit one part of an enormous structure of bunkers that spans from the Baltic Sea heading south underground for 400 kilometers. They also travelled to Sulecin, a small town a couple kilometers away from the training base.

With few English speaking natives, the team relies heavily on Sgt. Arthur Boruch of Orland Park, the only fluent Polish speaker on the team.

"It's been an interesting and challenging experience communicating the needs of 17 people," he said. "It can get exhausting but overall it's been great showing the guys the Polish culture I've known from growing up in a Polish speaking household."

The recent training between Illinois and Polish Soldiers was marked by a gesture of unity Feb. 17 when Brig. Gen. Bogdan Tworkowski, Commander of the Polish 6th Airborne Brigade, placed the unit's shoulder patch on each member of the BEST team while Col. Troy Phillips of Philo, BEST A9 commander, presented the Illinois colors to fly alongside the Polish National Flag.

"We are one team, one unit, and we are very glad to have the BEST team on board. I am sure that our efforts together will result in success," Tworkowski said.

Quad Cities, USA (February 17, 2012) -March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and staff from Digestive Disease Center, Gastroenterology Consultants, Digestive Disease Specialists and Trinity Medical Center have joined forces, once again, to form the Colon Cancer Free QCA Coalition.  This group consists of Gastroenterologists and other health care professionals who have come together to promote one simple message, Colonoscopies save lives.  The physicians will be meeting with various groups and family physicians this month to discuss the important role colonoscopies play in the early detection of colon cancer.

"Colon cancer is easily preventable by the removal of precancerous polyps during a screening colonoscopy.  If cancer is detected during a colonoscopy, it is easily curable in the early stages, as opposed to cancers that are detected at later stages which are often lethal.  These two facts make screening colonoscopy a no-brainier in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Please make sure you and all of your loved-ones get screened, since everyone is at risk of developing this common cancer," says Dr. Arvind Movva, Gastroenterology Consultants.

In addition to spreading general awareness, Colon Cancer Free QCA will be working with Good Samaritan Clinic in Moline to provide free colonoscopies to a number of uninsured patients. Doctors, nurses, and support staff, from each practice, have volunteered their services to make this free screening possible.  The exams will be performed free of charge for patients who have been previously identified as being at a high-risk for colon cancer by the Good Samaritan Clinic.

Each year, over 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer making it the third most common cancer diagnosis in the United States. "Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the U.S.  However, if we can raise awareness of the role a colonoscopy can play in the prevention of colon cancer, we can decrease the mortality from colorectal cancer significantly in our area", says Dr. Linda Tong of Digestive Disease Specialists.

Dr. Sreenivas Chintalapani of The Center for Digestive Health states, "The need for colorectal cancer screening is obvious with 150,000 new cases a year and 50,000 deaths. The technology and skills to detect and prevent colon cancer are available to most of us. It's just that that we need to get ourselves to your gastroenterologist and get your colonoscopy."  Colon Cancer remains among the top three cancer killers, even though it is also the most preventable form of deadly cancer.

The most effective means of preventing colon cancer is a colonoscopy.  In this procedure, pre-cancerous polyps are removed before they turn to cancer and early cancers are seen and biopsied, often before they cause symptoms.  If this cancer is detected early, often before symptoms appear, a person's chance of survival is about 90 percent; however, if a person waits until symptoms develop, this percentage drops dramatically. People with an average risk for colon cancer should be tested at age 50.  However, screenings should begin at age 40 if you have a family history of colon cancer or other high risk factors.   Colon cancer affects men and women equally, crossing all socio-economic lines.

 

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